The Implications of the Multiverse
by oliver.j.hoare
Summary: Sans is taken on a harrowing journey through his past by a figure determined to share ultimate power with him. Will he use the power to fix his mistakes, or will accepting the child's gift be his final one?


Soft light shines though stained glass to the hall, twinkling on the floor. Moments in time were frozen forever in the hallways of the palace, triumphs and losses and griefs, stories interlocking and weaving like a tapestry of time itself. Grand arches cast ominous, sweeping shadows on a short skeleton. Sans stood, waiting patiently. He shivered, but not from the cold. It was a beautiful day outside. But at the thought of the torment this monster had put so many others though... He dreaded to think what this killer was thinking, or if they mindlessly slaughtered hundreds. Sans wasn't sure which was worse. He had no idea if he'd even be able to slow down this rampant murderer. He knew perfectly well Frisk could arrive at any moment, attack him at any moment, or die at any moment. He knew that, in the end, it didn't matter if he put up a fight or not. It would win. He could only hope and fight to be in one of the timelines the he got to kill the bastard, even for a second. He smiled at that thought.

Suddenly, the peaceful light was dwarfed by a stream of blinding white light and biting wind shooting to the end of the hall. The dust clouds swelled in size, like a supernova, and collapsed into itself in a flash of yellow . Sans' grin stretched even wider as he braced into the onslaught. It had reset. He _had_ killed it. He _had won._

 _'_ All that's left now is to throw the burden onto another version of me', he grimaced sardonically.

Emerging from the gently shining star was a small child, clothed in a hand-knit sweater and shorts. Its hair was matted and its eyes dark, faced downwards. It was clutching a knife. It took slow, measured steps, punctuated by a sharp footfall and, as its face raised, Sans could see the twitchy, sadistic grin on its face. Sans recoiled slightly, _before_ coming back to life, not quite as cocky, but twice as determined. He decided then to give it a little 'surprise'.

A bone projectile emerged from the end of the hall, whipping silently towards the victim, completely undetectable. However just as Sans grinned, the child did also, a pleased, relaxed movement. It took two more sleepy steps to the side, reached out, and snapped it into pieces in midair. The grin grew to maniacal proportions.

'So you're one of the cockier ones then.' It smiled, 'It's always so fun to watch the look on your face as I break your 'Secret' moves one by one. I can't believe you thought you would fool me with that.'

Blasters surrounded the figure.

'Hmph.' It pouted. 'Temperamental too, I see'

Sans was terrified, shocked. How does it know this? Who is this? What will it-

'I hope you're one of the ones that wants to understand the full extent of my marvellous abilities. If that's the case, we can both put our weapons down and have a friendly chat? Just like old times?'

Sans readied his blasters in response.

'Oh, please.' Frisk smirked 'You know you can't win. Not for long, anyway. I can see you're a smart one, Sans. If you make this hard for me... Well then...' It giggled, 'I might just destroy a few thousand of you. I have no patience for impertinence. If you don't want my gift, I might as well go sometime else. You see, I can impart knowledge you've only dreamed of. What you have lain awake at night about, desperately trying to comprehend, _I_ have _experienced_. What it's like to transcend the timelines. What DETERMINATION really is. What you really are. If you don't want to take up my offer, I can just go look for someone else.', it whispered, caressing its knife. 'The Multiverse is just full of opportunity.'

Sans stood, stunned. Could this... thing... really grant him all that knowledge? Could he afford to let his guard down? Could he trust it? His logic said no. It was impossible. A mere child ascertaining all this knowledge was beyond the realms of belief, not to mention sharing secrets that were beyond the realms of this existence. Why would it even care about him, let alone share this with him? But his emotion, shattered and broken, cried so much louder. It wailed for its friends, for its livelihood, its life to come back. This was his final chance to see them all again, to find a solution to everything and fix the mess he had made.

'There's no point!' it screams.

'What choice do you have?'

'You have to undo what you did.'

The child interrupted his thoughts suddenly,

'If you're wondering, by the way, you ought to know the death of you means nothing to me. It's usually more of an inconvenience than an opportunity for me at this point. If you'd rather not have your close-minded, pre-conceived notions of all of reality shattered, then by all means blast away.'

It leaned in menacingly, 'You still can't save the others timelines', It whispered softly, a razor edge on every syllable.

'Who _are_ you?' Sans growled through gritted teeth.

The figure leaned back and laughed, pleased with itself.

'You're asking me?' it chortled.

'I am Frisk, squared. I'm more myself than ever, thanks to my new... upgrades.'

She looked over at him, as if bored by his very existence. It spoke softly,

'Dont you want to feel whole again?'

A chill struck down Sans' spine. He had heard this voice... a long time ago... before it had disappeared.

'I know you wielded this power before, Sans. You know how it felt, and you yearn to return to it. I swear to you this time it will be different. This time, there will be no bad thoughts. This time, this power won't cage you in...' It walked close to Sans, and whispered gently,

'It will set you free'


End file.
